Sleepless Predator
by KillerUchiha
Summary: Full Summary Inside: "Tell me the truth." "It's nothing. Just a little blood." "You killed someone, right? You're the murderer." "No, I'm-" "Just tell me why!"
1. Prologue

As practice for NaNoWriMo this year, I'll be trying to write this with 50,000 words, in one month. I hope you enjoy it... as it'll be rushed, and fairly... 'unedited'. I'll begin on the 15th, so as to have a solid start, and a couple days' prep.

All right, then. Full summary of _Sleepless Predator_:

Sasuke is haunted by something... something unkind, uncaring, and unfeeling. This thing, this phantom of night, which becomes Sasuke's closest friend.

Growing up with such a fiend, he is raised much differently than the average child... because unlike some who want to be ninja, unlike some who want to be detectives, unlike some who want to play sports... Sasuke only wants to do one thing. Kill.

This young Uchiha, at the peak of his teenage years, reflects on his younger days, as his darker side reaches forth and strikes all that stands in his way. Defeating any that might crack that shell protecting his heart of black ice.

And, because this IS for NaNoWriMo, if something... _reeeally_ random happens... like... so far of course that it has absolutely _no_ possible relation to anything that's happened in the past, or present of this fanfic... blame this. The Dare Machine.

http : / / ywp . nanowrimo . org /


	2. Just the Beginning

Sleepless Predator: Chapter One: Just the Beginning

~sSs~

_"Hey, why not go out, tonight? Sasuke, you like onigiri, right?" Mother asked, a smile gracing her lips. We're in a car… black. It's dark outside, and I can barely see stars out the windows._

_"Bah," I see Father's hand waving. "Get something a little sweeter. Itachi likes dango, right?"_

_I hear Mother laugh, as she points, saying, "You mean _you_ like dango?"_

_"Perhaps…" A low chuckle escapes him._

_The car is rolling down the road really fast… and I can't see much outside, because Mother is holding me in towards her. Itachi is behind me. I see him… he looks really happy, when he hears dango. I wonder why he's not so happy now… I don't see him smile as often. Suddenly, there's a feeling I don't like, when I hear Mother gasp and tense. What's happening? I'm trying to see further, but I can't get out of her grip, or turn. Why doesn't my body move? She's leaning over, trying to see into the back seat. She's moving me… reaching for Itachi, with me in her hands._

_"Itachi!"_

_There's a lot of light! Where's it coming from? Is it above me?_

_"Sasuke!"_

_The scream is not answered until it is too late. There's a loud screeching sound, deafening me. It hurts. There's a dark red liquid all over me, and it's sticky._

_I can't remember Itachi ever being scared, before… until now._

_"Sukeee!"_

_~sSs~_

_"Suke,"_ the voice spoke again. _"It's time..."_

The boy shook the nightmares away, as he awoke to the sound of a demanding tone. "Big Brother?" He rubbed his sleepy eyes, listening to the words. There were always instructions for him.

_"You have more to do. Don't waste time sleeping."_ Itachi crossed his arms impatiently.

Young Sasuke shook his head, fragile hands on both ears, forgetting a dream. "No, no, I don't want to do it…" He mumbled, half sleeping.

He hummed, sitting next to his brother, _"Suke…"_ whined Itachi, _"You know what you have to do. Besides… it will be… fun. I promise it will."_

"You always say that," countered the boy, quietly. He felt a cold hand rest on his shoulder, the finger tips chilling his skin, right through his shirt. Why was Itachi so cold, all the time?

Every night, every day, this teen haunted him. Every hour, he was present; every minute, he would be there, breath ghosting over Sasuke's bare neck as he whispered things, many times, horrible things. During the day, even if Sasuke couldn't see him, he would comment on things that he did, and tell him to improve his skills, lest he be a humiliation to their family. But even as he critiqued him… he was always kind later, to make up for it. Itachi would be his best friend, his only brother, forever. Itachi could never abandon him.

He mused, _"What should I do?" _with a sigh. _"My brother won't help me with this small task…"_

"I won't do it! I'll get in trouble, again!" Sasuke cried aloud, fully awake, also stirring the guardian down the hall.

Itachi frowned. _"Sasuke… do what I tell you. Or do you not want to succeed?" _He paused for effect, before saying, _"Or do you want to be a failure? Do you want to… disgrace Mother and Father?"_ Sasuke had forgotten his nightmare… he remembered nothing of any parent, save his current guardian, Kakashi. _"I'm older, after all."_

He didn't have time to answer, as sleepy footfalls shuffled down towards his room, and a tired face peeked through his door. "Sasuke, at this hour? What, have you had nightmares, again?" Kakashi yawned, leaning against the door frame. Honestly, he could not remember the last full night of sleep he had gotten since Sasuke started yelling out in the night. "You want me to stay with you?" He sat on the bed, putting a hand on Sasuke's shivering shoulder. He was warm. But Sasuke only quivered, knowing that Itachi had been in that exact same position, mere moments ago.

The boy stiffened. "No, I — " Then looked to where Itachi should be sitting… but he was gone. He always left when other people were around. "I — I didn't…" Sasuke tried to blink his tears away without much notice. Lucky the light was dim. "I'm sorry, sir… I'll g- go back to sleep…" He pulled the blankets over his head with no further word, and waited for the man to go away. After a minute or two of nothing, Sasuke heard him sigh and take his leave. However, as soon as Kakashi was out of sight, the elder Uchiha returned to the room.

_"Suke." _Sasuke jumped when the voice penetrated the dark silence, once more. _"Come have fun with me."_

Itachi was fun, sometimes… but he was always really serious about his training times. Even if he said it was fun, it was not always, and Sasuke knew that.

~sSs~

Kakashi sighed, as he rolled back into his warm covers. Honestly, there was something wrong with that kid; he just knew. These strange yells in the middle of the night, but he could never understand them. Last time he caught the little Uchiha, the boy was standing out in the rain, drenched, and not seeming to notice his own frigid body. Was he trying to run away? Was that it? Why?

Hmm… Kakashi wondered. Perhaps if I give him a bit more attention? Ah, and that Iruka has a boy named Naruto, right? Yes, a bit of talking around Naruto will help, when I'm at school. Kakashi should've thought of Iruka first, not that pervert, Jiraiya. He was a good man, very, very, _very _deep down, underneath the perverseness, but he probably spent more time writing than really taking care of Sasuke. After all, Iruka was younger, and willing to play with him, like Naruto. With luck, having a better social life would lead him away from only playing with himself, and talking to the air like a friend. Sure, he was eight, and he probably had imaginary friends, and yes, Kakashi was not his blood father, but did that mean he cared any less?

Ever since he came here, he's been distant… always saying things in his sleep, having nightmares, probably about that night… Cruel to such a young child, but at least they didn't all suffer. Kakashi sighed, turning on his back. I'll meet up with Iruka tomorrow, have him bring Naruto. After all, that kid has quite an influential personality. Even Sasuke can't resist someone like that, right?

Maybe, since it was a Saturday, they could meet up in the park later on, and play on the swings. He knew that they were Naruto's favorite place.

~sSs~

_"Suke, come. Follow me."_

Sasuke nodded, as Itachi neared the window. It was the easiest way to go outside, after all. Itachi slid out from beneath the frame, easily, but Sasuke was not having such luck. _"Hurry up. By the time we even begin, the sun will have risen."_

"I'm coming!" His small hands pushed on the old wood, but it would not budge. "Er, open, open!" Sasuke whispered, not wanting to disappoint Itachi, or his parents. He had to become great, and surpass his brother! He could never succeed if he lacked the strength to simply open a jammed window. "I can get it, big brother, just wait!"

Itachi sighed. He looked once at his struggling little brother, and lifted the glass. Hearing Sasuke pant from his efforts, he pulled him out, none too gracefully. _"Let's hurry. Your lesson will have to be short, this night."_

"Yes, Brother…" Sasuke said quietly. He bowed his head… Itachi wasn't very happy, from the sound of it. Sasuke had to catch up, and be better, for sure!

Not to Kakashi's knowledge, Sasuke crawled back into bed a few hours before sunrise, just to get enough sleep not to faint later in the day. Itachi had of course scolded him out for lack of precision, and worth, being that the boy only became more fatigued by the day. But, no matter, Itachi knew that Sasuke would catch up, soon. After all, he had Uchiha blood in his veins.

Soon after waking, Kakashi called up a young teacher-in-training, Iruka. After lunch, perhaps at a ramen stand, they and their two sons might go to the park for some… _bonding_ time. He told Sasuke that he wanted him to meet someone. He'd like him. Kakashi said that this boy went to a different school, but they would be good friends, telling him all sorts of things about this new child… someone named… _Naruto_.

~sSs~

"So, then, he's called Nauto?" Sasuke said, trying to repeat the uncommon name.

"Closer, say it again… Na… ru… to," Kakashi enunciated.

"Naturo?" Sasuke was so close, but… not close enough.

Kakashi and he walked along a side walk, towards town. Sasuke didn't really want to walk, because Itachi kept him up all night… he was always hurting. He thought, maybe, it will go away, but it never did. He was straining too hard, not that he knew.

After a few more tries, Sasuke successfully completed, "Naru – to. Naruto."

"Yes, and here they are," Kakashi chimed, when he saw the orange pants hanging out from below the curtains. "Yo!"

Hearing the voice, the blonde known as Naruto's feet swung around, and he climbed down from the high stool. "Hiya, Kashi-seisei, hiya! You gonna teach me awesome nija stuff, now, huh? Nija!" Sasuke didn't know what a 'nija' was… but it must be exciting, from how Naruto reacted. "I can do really awesome nija kicks, and stuff! Watch!"

As Naruto made to perform his awesome kicking skills, Iruka caught his waist, before he fell over. "Or let's go back to eating ramen, Naruto. And don't go calling Kakashi that. His name isn't Kashi."

Naruto pouted. "I know… but nija dudes have to be called seisei. He's Kashi-seisei!" The blonde grinned wide, holding up a thumb to his seisei. "You're gonna teach me all sorts of cool nija stuff, right? Right? Come on, seisei, I can do anything! I'll learn really fast! Kashi-seisei!"

Iruka noted quietly, "Sensei…" with a sigh. "Anyway, we've only just started because Naruto couldn't wait. Come on, and we'll go to the park later. Naruto, I'll help y — "

Naruto shook his head, practically trembling his entire body in the process. "Nuh-uh! I can get back up! I'm gonna be a nija, so I have to be able to get up on my own." Iruka let him be, and sure enough, even with struggle, the blonde boy managed the height. "See? I toldja! I can do anything a nija can!"

And in this entire scene… Naruto did not even so much as look at Sasuke. The raven haired boy stood in a daze that such a loud and hyper child could exist… Itachi would never let him act like that; he might be killed for even thinking about such behavior. Loud, and unfocused, he doubted Itachi would approve… but then, could he also not be friends with this boy? "Sasuke, come and eat. We'll go to that park later, okay?"

Sasuke peered up at Kakashi and followed him to the seats. _"You have strength… to climb up faster than that blonde. You should be better than the rest of your generation, because you are an Uchiha, so acknowledge your pride."_ Sasuke swallowed a bit. But… it was _really_ high. What if he didn't make it? What if he failed, and…

"Need some help up, Sasuke?" Kakashi made to pick him up, but Sasuke didn't let him.

He struggled for the word that Naruto had earlier said. "I can be a– a– a _nija_, too." Apparently, something he said made Kakashi and Iruka laugh. He didn't understand why, but began his climb, anyway. As he was told, though it hurt a little, with sore hands, he made it up quickly, like Itachi showed him to climb. He had to climb fast, if he would be able to please his brother. "I — " he panted, but tried to lessen it, "I am a nija like… Naruto." He turned to face the blonde boy, who was quickly devouring his bowl of noodles. "I am… your rival. I am going to be a better nija than you," he said, quietly.

Somehow, Naruto heard these words, and paused in his inhaling. With a few noodles hanging out of his mouth, he squinted at Sasuke, and sucked them up. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he countered, "Then, then… I will be your… er, _reval_, too! I already started being a nija! So, so, you have to catch up!"

Itachi whispered, _"You've been training for years, haven't you Sasuke? You are training to be something greater than a simple ninja…" _Sasuke flinched, feeling a cold hand ghost over his neck, again. It was strange, because Itachi only appeared when he was alone. _"Don't forget me, and what we do… We have a lot more fun than ninja."_

"Hah, you jumped, you're so surprised at how far I am, right? Yep! Uzumaki Naruto will be the best nija there ever was, for sure!"

"I will catch up, fast, then. I can never lose to you." Naruto had already returned his attention to his ramen; his quickly disappearing ramen.

~sSs~

"YAY! The park, the swings! Let's go to the swings, Ruka! The swings are fun!"

Sasuke edged away from the loud boy. His ears hurt a little. "Naruto, just a little quieter. There are other people around; the park isn't only yours."

"Yeah… I'll be good… but we're still gonna go to the swings, right?"

Itachi loomed ever near, never quite leaving Sasuke's side. _"Go have fun, then. You can play with me, later. Then, we can have more fun than the swings."_ Sasuke nodded, but Naruto only thought that Sasuke was nodding to him.

"See, he wants tuh go to the swings, too! Let's go!" Naruto raced off, and Sasuke went along with him. "Speed up!"

"Oi, Naruto!" Iruka began, but Kakashi stopped him.

He let his arm down, saying, "Let them be. Sasuke can supervise himself, you know." When Iruka began a protest, he countered, "Sasuke's only eight, sure, but he's responsible. Plus, he needs to be around others his age, more often." When the man settled down, the boys were already just out of their sight, hiding behind trees… like any skilled _nija_.

"Hey, hey, so, uh… what's yer name?" Naruto finally realized that he had never asked the name of the pale, tired looking, black haired, quiet — all right, you understand, a list of things Naruto is not — boy.

He said, surely, "Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke."

Itachi walked somewhere near him from behind. _"Yeah, Suke. Tell him who we are! Uchiha!"_ Both siblings were quite proud of their name, after all.

"Uchiha? Like, Uchiha from that big crash on the TV? Ruka was watching something like that… are you, like, some sorta TV person? That would be awesome. In the crash, there was a lot of fire, and only two little kids survived it, and now they went out to new mommies and daddies. So, like, that's real? Were you burned and stuff? Did that hurt a lot? How come only you and that other one survived? Do you have burn scars now, all over? Does — "

Sasuke didn't know what else he said… he was too busy wondering what Naruto was talking about. A… crash? Was he in a crash? He couldn't remember… In fact, he couldn't remember a lot of things from before Itachi came around. "I think that Uchiha was not me…" Sasuke said, after thinking. "I am not burned, or hurt."

The rambling Naruto stopped long enough to say, "Oh…" but he quickly brought up a few more choice topics. "School's really boring! Is your school boring? You don't go to my school. All my teachers don't really like me; they think I only get in trouble… well, I mostly do, but it's 'cause I'm spending so much time training for being a nija! You really like nija people, too, right? That's why you're gonna be a nija, too, right? What kind of stuff do you know about nija? Wanna see my kick, now? I can punch and run _really_ fast! Watch!"

Sasuke gazed in boredom as Naruto weakly performed his stunts. Still, Itachi told him not to lose… he had to definitely run faster, and kick higher, and punch harder. Uchiha could not lose… They could not. "Er… I can do it, too!" Sasuke came closer, standing beside the blonde. "I can do nija stuff like you, too!" So he tried… but punching, kicking, running… they were not his forte, not with Naruto's extensive well of energy, and his diminishing one. But then, he spotted a glimpse of silver, out of the corner of his eye. "I can… I can throw this!" I must have left it here last night… I should return it to home before… um, what did Naruto call him? Kashi? I should call him that. Then, before Kashi sees it missing.

"Hey, anyone can throw things, y'know… I bet I can throw it, too! Here, I can show you! Let's practice, together!"

It was a simple dinner knife… but it was good enough for Itachi to teach him with, so he could hold them easily, without fear of injuring himself. However, to impress Naruto… he had to do this perfectly. "I can hit the center of that tree, behind me," he said, knowing its location. "I practice stuff, too…" Whispering, he added in a near silent breath, "Please, hit." Taking a breath in preparation, and concentration, he held it up in his left hand, pointing the handle to the right. "Please…" A foot traced a set circle around his body, a path it knew well. When his arm swung up, his torso turned, and he brought his arm down like an anchor, flicking his wrist. The dull blade left his fingers… it was spinning, spinning, spinning…

"Whoa… can you teach me how to do that?" The thick steel was still shaking and settling in the bark. Naruto failed to notice the many other slits where similar knives had penetrated the hard wood. "I'm a fast learner!"

Sasuke shook his head. "No… I can't teach you. I have a different teacher… I can't tell you his… uh, secret nija techniques."

Itachi pouted a bit, behind him. _"Secret _Ninja_ Techniques? I thought I was a little better teacher than that…" _Sasuke looked toward the ground, tucking away the knife. He hoped Kashi did not find out what they did. _"Still… don't mention me to him. If he thinks Kakashi is your teacher, he might mention that you've also learned from someone. The way his mouth never stops… who knows what might be said."_

Sasuke nodded slightly. "It's not Kashi," he said. "It's a different person… but don't tell anyone."

Oblivious to the change of topic, Naruto guaranteed, "No worries! I'm a good secret keeper!"

Sasuke wasn't so sure that could be true… "Do you… really promise?"

"Definitely! I'll pinky promise," he assured, taking the Uchiha's hand without warning. "See? I never break my promises." Sasuke smiled a bit, looking at their locked fingers. Yes… he could trust Naruto.

Later, they were on the swings, as Naruto originally wanted. "Yeeeah! Higher, higher!" He pumped his legs, and every swing brought his just a few inches higher.

Sasuke was, without a doubt, in this competition. They battled every minute they were with each other, trying to best their rival. I will beat Naruto, for sure… I have to, to make Itachi happy. "You won't win!" he shouted. But Naruto only tried harder.

"Boys! Come on, it's nearly time to leave," Iruka said above their challenging voices.

"Awww!" Naruto wanted to stay longer. After all, he just made a new friend… that actually seemed to _like_ him. "A little longer!" he said, as he slowed the chains. "We can go down the slide, right? We can do that before we go?" He dragged his feet on the ground when he could reach, with dust clouds rising all around him. Sasuke did similarly, but when he was low enough, he jumped with a tiny flip. Naruto muttered, "Showoff…"

Iruka considered it. It would only be a few extra minutes, right? "All right, but don't you take all night, okay? Go on, then." That raised Naruto's spirits, again.

"Yeah, let's go, Sasuke!" Naruto took the other by his wrist and dragged him for a few steps, before Sasuke's feet caught up with him.

"Oi, Naruto, what if Sasuke didn't — "

"I'm fine!" the boy cut in. After all, he had to beat Naruto, and he could not defeat his rival if he did not see his every ability. If he did not watch close enough, Naruto could surpass him…

~sSs~

_"So, have fun with this Naruto?" _asked Itachi. Itachi only had Sasuke as a friend, so he went around to find things fun on his own, during the majority of Sasuke's time with Naruto.

Sasuke sat crossed legged on top of his sheets. "Um… I have more fun with you… and you and me play funner games than the swings…"

_"More fun,"_ Itachi corrected. _"But you don't have to lie. I want you to be around that boy more often…" _Sasuke looked up a bit at the idea. _"Challenge him, and be better. We're Uchiha, so we have to prove our worth as Uchiha."_

Sasuke nodded. If his brother said it was good to be around Naruto a lot, then he would spend every extra minute that he could with this blonde, this strange new… _friend_. Yes, Naruto was his friend. "Naruto is my friend… but we have to be enemies, right?"

Itachi shrugged. _"As long as he doesn't get in the way of your training, he'll not be a problem, right?" _Sasuke blinked. Was Itachi being _serious_? He never wanted Sasuke to be friends with other kids his age. _"Keep him and me separate. I don't want to deal with him too often," _he said, a small pout holding his lower lip. _"He's loud. I like you better, because you're quieter, when we play. You're smarter than him, so don't let being around this Naruto make your skills duller."_

Sasuke broke out in a grin, practically jumping on his brother, ignoring the cold sensation. "I won't ever get worse! I'll make sure that I win the challenges, too! He's going to be my best friend, after you, Chi!"

Itachi, surprised at this sudden… act of hugging, simply looked to the side awkwardly, patting Sasuke's back. _"No… now that he's your friend, I am just your brother. He's your best friend, now."_

Sasuke pulled out just enough to see Itachi's face. "But… we won't ever stop having fun, though, right? I want you both to be my best friends…" Sasuke held on like Itachi could disappear at any moment — well, he could… but that was not the issue at hand! "Are you going to not be around when Naruto is with me?" the boy inquired.

A smirked lined Itachi's lips. _"Of course not. Someone needs to watch you, right? I won't leave for long… but that boy…" _Shaking his head like the wise old thirteen year old he was, Itachi merely sighed at the thought of such an obnoxious child as Naruto around his Suke. Maybe it would do him a little good… in the long run, anyway.

~sSs~

A few weeks later, Sasuke visited Naruto's — Iruka's — apartment. It was definitely smaller than Kakashi's home, and a bit cluttered, but Sasuke imagined that it could only be Naruto's doing. Sasuke wondered why Kakashi had never introduced Naruto or Iruka to him. It was not an important matter, he supposed.

"Hey! Sasuke! I wanna show you this!" Naruto raced over to the door as he streamed through the halls. "Sasuke, Sasuke, come see!" It must be something very exciting… Or Naruto must think that _everything_ is exciting.

"I — " Sasuke threw his shoe behind him before he was dragged too far from the mat. Soon enough, Naruto had him in a very… messy and very _orange_ room. "Um… this is… your room, right?" he asked, though certain of the answer.

"Yeah, of course! And look, here's what I wanted you to see! I just got him, yesterday. Look!" Naruto pointed enthusiastically at a small, dull, still lizard-creature. It was not moving, as far at Sasuke could tell. Just sitting under its warm light, without a care in the world. "I called him… wait for it… Kyuubi!"

Sasuke blinked. "K… Kyuubi? Why?" It was an even stranger name than Naruto.

"Kyuubi is kinda… see, there's this friend… he's kinda not _real_, y'know… but he's real to me. Ruka says he's my imagreenary friend." Naruto nodded. "He has this awesome orange hair, and claws, and he can do awesome nija skills. Maybe you can meet him, someday, but so far, only I could see him…" Naruto said sadly. "But, but, see, I named this guy after him! He's got all those tiny, little spikes and stuff, like Kyuubi. And — "

Sasuke dazed off, eyes glazed over as he trailed the bright room. Untouched books, dried paint handprints, randomly scattered drawings, even some chopsticks. Kakashi was always making sure his room was clean, and neat. Hmm… "Naru, what's that box, up there?" he asked, seeing the only thing that looked as if it was placed with a purpose. It was small, and it sort of looked like a ring box. Were Naruto's fingers big enough to wear rings?

"Oh, that…" He looked to the sides, looking for any 'nija' that might be spying on him. "Don't ever tell that I have it, okay? It's really special, 'cause Ruka gave it to me to keep safe, forever. Here, I'll get it down." He pulled a chair over to the dresser, right up against the door. Sasuke watched as he patted around the surface of the wood for the small box, before taking it in his palm. "Shh… Okay, see?" When Naruto opened it up, a grayish, silvery metal stuck out from the case.. Naruto pulled it out, holding it as if it was a human soul, careful not to drop it. "It a silver dollar. Ruka gave it to me on my sixth birthday. I kept it safe for one year, almost two. Ruka says his soul's in it, so I can't ever let anything happen to it, never. He says if I keep it safe long enough, then it'll turn into something else, really special." Naruto dazed off, thinking about the things Iruka had told him about this special silver dollar.

Sasuke watched him carefully put it back, and he climbed back on to the stool. "I'm never gonna let something bad happen to it." Naruto hugged it a bit, before putting it back to its place.

Sasuke knew that Naruto cared about it… but… why? He did not treasure everything that Itachi gave him, nor Kakashi. "I see… keep it safe, then." Naruto nodded fervently.

"Yo!" Naruto leapt of the chair, seeing his seisei return.

"Grr, sneaky Kashi-seisei! You don't always have to be all nija and sneak up on me! I'll catch you, you know!" Earning only a laugh, Naruto pouted at his sensei, when he mussed his hair.

Kakashi announced, "Ah, so you know, Sasuke, we'll be joining Naruto on his and Iruka's annual camping trip. Just thought you should know, before we head out!"

Sasuke stayed silent during Naruto's celebration, only wanting to know when Itachi could see him again, if Naruto was always around him. "But… I…" Still, Naruto paid no heed, as he rejoiced over having extra time with his new friend. "Itachi… when will we…"

Naruto replaced his happy grin for a look of confusion. "Eh, Itachi? Who's that?"

Sasuke would've gasped. He did not realized that he had spoken Itachi's name aloud. What if Naruto found out more about his brother? Things would not be good, for sure. "I… I didn't say Itachi. I said… Ita… um… Ita– _mmi_. Itami. That's what… um… Itami is the name of — "

"So, Naruto, coming or not?" called Iruka's young voice.

"Yeah! Come on, Sasuke!" And so, glad of that interruption, Sasuke allowed Naruto to pull him back down the halls they had come from. "We're gonna eat lots of marshmallows, right? Right? Yummy marshmallows! They taste almost as good as ramen!"

Within the hour, they were headed off. While riding, they decided to let Sasuke and Naruto share the small tent, while Kakashi and Iruka would be in the larger one.

~sSs~

"Unn… no… no, wait… Ahhh!" Sasuke awoke to Naruto's sudden yelling. What was he crying over? "Ah, the Peeps! The Peeps, Sasuke! They're gonna come after me! I ate too many marshmallows, so now they're gonna attack me! My nija skills can't even stop them!"

Sasuke crawled around blindly, looking for the blonde. When we finally did get to the other's sleeping bag, he found himself 'glomp-hugged' in the death grip. "N-Na… Naru — " he attempted to say, but he was being crushed.

"Save me!" Sasuke wasn't so sure what to do, so he simply did what Itachi did, the last time Sasuke tried to hug him… pat his back… awkwardly. "Their eyes, Sasuke, their _eyes_! You can see how evil they are! I promise to never eat another Peep, again!" Sasuke didn't respond to this; he feared that if he _dared_ to speak, the air he was allowed to inhale might be wasted on speech and he would suffocate by the hug of death.

"Naru… Naruto… I c… can't b — " Sasuke tried to separate them, but Naruto didn't want to be pushed away… Everytime Sasuke tried to escape, he only got pulled in tighter. Honestly, he was truly going to be choked liked this. Naruto had to let go. Let go! "Naruto!" Sasuke gasped.

Now, Sasuke thought maybe he knew why Iruka said it was okay not to sleep with Naruto…

~sSs~

**The Used Dares for this chapter: use an iguana, silver dollar, nightmare about marshmallow peeps, and have the villain and main character get along for a chapter.**


	3. Just High School

Sleepless Predator: Chapter Two: Just High School

~sSs~

Where is Naruto? Sasuke wondered, wandering around the insanely crowded high school. We have the next class together, and I can't find anything in this place! He searched the heads of students. Doing what seemed easiest to find his best friend, he merely scanned the bodies for a flood of orange — orange glasses, orange sweatshirt, orange spiral on an otherwise black backpack, orange shoes, anything that might be Naruto. And using this amazing technique, he spotted the stubborn blonde at the center of a quickly thickening amassing. He heard that familiar voice ring above all others. "— not doing anything to him! Mess with Sasuke, mess with me!"

Sasuke tried to force his way towards the center of the ring. Naruto just could _not_ go one week without starting a fight, could he? "Naruto!" Honestly, in the middle of the day? He cursed, as he fought the crowd. What did these strangers care, anyway? "Damn this…"

A phantom of a figure wavered near his shoulder. _"Aw, don't use that kind of language, now, Suke. Go to class. He'll get along fine, without you, you know. Don't worry about Naruto so much."_

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He wanted to say, "I'm fourteen, halfway to fifteen. You honestly think I can't say 'damn'?" but he didn't. After all, disrespecting Itachi would only hurt him in the end. He was so different, not the same as he used to be; he hardly ever did anything but train with him, anymore, and even then, the lessons only became harder to keep up with.

"Get away from him, creep!" Sasuke wanted to see just who Naruto was battling, but Itachi ordered him to just go to class. He had to obey; there was no choice, this time. "I swear, you'll die by _my_ hand, if you try it!" He wants to be with Naruto, tell him that he can handle anything, tell him not to worry so much. He wants him to stop making himself such a target, but that is not an option, right now.

Room 126: Mr. Maito. The new semester brought on some terrifying teachers… Sasuke, Naruto, and even Itachi, to an extent, feared the personality of the character known as Maito Gai.

As such, he took as long as he dared to walk the hallway that led to the most frightening class in this school: Physical Education.

"Oh, such bright, youthful faces! You all must know why you're here, yes? That's correct!" he exclaimed, before a word was given from any chosen student. "To learn what youth you might be brought by the practice of your great hand-to-hand skills! To become so fit, so full of blossoming youth, you can never again be fatigued! To know the great art of training sport, of **_Youth_**!"

Sasuke really regretted moving here. He wanted to back at his old school, where only Naruto had to deal with this green mass of… Maito Gai. The only thing that he might say was welcoming about this class was that Itachi never bothered him when this beast was in sight… but who was truly the lesser of the two evils? Itachi, or Gai? After a bit of consideration, he chose Itachi. He'd rather spend an extra two hours training with his sadistic brother than this… sadistic-in-another-way Gai.

Gai flashed his gleaming teeth, announcing, "So! We should first introduce ourselves to this wonderful class! Tell us, what is your most youthful accomplishment? I should start with… You!"

Everyone turned their heads to the thing that could only be Gai's young, _youthful_, clone. "Me? Yes! I am Rock Lee! I am youthful when I train in taijitsu, with my nemesis, Hyuuga Neji! I am most youthful when challenging him!" Well, wasn't that a shock. Neji, the class president, actually trained in the martial arts? Wonders would never cease in the school.

Gai clapped for him. "Yes, I have found my first favorite student! Who can top him? Anyone? Lee, choose the next student to give their youthful introduction!"

Sasuke looked away, fading into the shadows. With luck, this class might just pass over him, and he would not have to do this. "I will choose… Sakura! The lovely, youthful, beautiful Sakura!"

At such words from such a guy, Sakura's face reddened. Whether this blush was born from anger, or embarrassment, or a combination of both, no one knew. "Thanks, Lee… make me go second…" Sakura took a breath, mentally composing her words. "My name is Haruno Sakura…"

Gai pressed, "And? What, tell us, makes you so youthful?"

"Well… um…"

"Go, Sakura! Tell him it's your beauty!" Lee cheered. "Or your strength!"

She looked away from Lee, her face turning a darker cherry, and her eyes twitching. "Right… My youthfulness… my beauty and strength…" deadpanned Sakura.

And class continued, one by one, each student explained, and if they forgot to say _that word_, Gai would no doubt make them remember it.

"And, who's this person? It is not youthful to be late."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes when he saw the bandages. This was exactly the reason he wanted Naruto not to constantly make himself a target. "Heh, sorry, Maito. Was just in the nurses' office, and here's my pass — "

The man shook his head. "No! I do not need this paper scrap! I need to know what makes you so youthful!"

Naruto blinked. "Um… my age?" He cocked an eyebrow, clearly thinking that was all that was required of him.

Naruto was going to walk through the crowd and stand by Kiba, hoping to avoid Sasuke at all costs, when Gai called him back. "Not enough! What is your name? What makes you so youthful? Age is nothing, when it comes to youth! After all, I am not so young as you, young freshman, but I am still full of youth!"

He turned and faced the Youth Monster, again. "_Riiight_… All right. Name's Naruto, and… I am youthful, because…"

Riiing.

Now that, right there, is being saved by the bell. However, the lucky bell might not save him from Sasuke. "Later, Maito!" Naruto charged out as fast as his injured body would allow him, which was still fairly quick, compared to some lesser athletes. "Gotta go, gotta go, Sasuke, don't you dare catch up, running away, gotta — "

"Naruto."

Well. Naruto's chants obviously had no desired effect. "I'm fine, Sasuke! Go to class!" he said, with a false smile. Sasuke knew he was lying, especially with all the reddening wrappings he wore. He would find out who did this. Sasuke always got his revenge, when someone dared to hurt Naruto in front of him, always.

~sSs~

If there was one thing that he really hated about high school, it was the horribly long lunch lines, and the fact that there was never anything edible at the end, anyway. Lucky for him, Sasuke generally packed his own lunch. For Naruto, cooking his own ramen with the help of Iruka in secret everyday was just his thing. So, everyday, no excuses, Naruto had his ramen, five flavors for each day of the week. Today was beef, and Sasuke didn't have to get very close to their normal table before he smelled Naruto's fresh bowl. "Ah, no way!" he heard him exclaim. He was most likely talking to Kiba. "There's gonna be a lockdown, or what? I mean… this has never happened before!"

Curious, Sasuke slid into the seat beside Naruto, pulling out his onigiri. Man, did he ever love that stuff. It wasn't hot anymore, from this morning, but it didn't matter. He could eat it out of a fridge, if he wanted to. "What's never happened?"

Naruto slammed his hands on the table, shaking the tray in front of Kiba. "Sasuke! You'll never guess! A student — "

_"Attention, students of Konoha High,"_ blared the speakers. _"This is your principle, Tsunade. There's been a dangerous recent discovery, and every student will be questioned on the matter. Do _not_ panic, as the situation is well under control of the authorities, however no students are permitted to leave this campus until examined."_

A click followed, and a new wave of chatter quickly rushed in, and clashed in the air. Each student was going to be called… one at a time… first up was someone named Akai. It must be sad to have to go first… Oh well. The staff couldn't really get all the way to the U names in time before school ended, and it wasn't as if they could actually stop students from leaving after the final bell.

"Well, then, Naruto, man, that's what she's talking 'bout, then? How'd you find out something like that?" Kiba exclaimed. "Come on, finish up, already!"

Chouji popped a fortune cookie. Seriously, where did he get it from? "You are surrounded by good friends."

"Like I was saying," Naruto said with a nod, ignoring Chouji's cookie, "like Tsunade said… that dangerous discovery she's talking about… it's a body." Sasuke did not move an inch. So? If it was where he thought it was, then there were no problems to be heard. "There was a piece of clothing or a shoe or something sticking up in the snow, before. Someone wondered what it was. They dug, and found him. But, I don't know the guy's name."

Kiba wasn't so thrilled over it, but he wanted to know something else, first. "Yeah, so who told you? Did you see it when it happened? Who found the guy?" Suddenly, Sasuke thought Kiba reminded him of Naruto, back when his questions never ended. They had never ended until even now, but this time, Naruto was the one explaining, not questioning.

A another pop. "Take a vacation! You deserve it! Guys, I wanna go somewhere warm, with a waterfall!"

"Dude, Kiba, I only know so much, y'know! I only know what it was 'cause I was overhearing Tsunade when I… er, when I was, y'know… in the…" Naruto glanced Sasuke's way. That cold bastard held not the slightest interest in his story at all! He was too focused on staring Naruto to ashes, probably trying to discover the cause of his injury by seeing the wounds beneath — after he burned through the bandages, of course, with that weird Uchiha-freeze/laser/x-ray-vision-thing that Naruto _knew_ he was hiding.

"Those exchange students, huh?" Sasuke frowned. He ought to have known such creeps. However, that explained why he failed to recognize their voices. "Tell me when things get this bad, Naruto," he grit. Soon enough, Sasuke was getting up from his chair, Kiba going unnoticed. "What were you doing?"

Pop, crunch, crack. "Oh my god! Guys, there's no fortune! Am I gonna die? Ahhh!"

Naruto crossed his arms. "Hey, you don't have to get so protective, you know. Look, I'm fine! Shizune just went _nutso_ with all the tape!" he exclaimed, aiming to remove the gauze to prove it.

But Sasuke stopped him. "No… you don't have to take them off, here. It's the middle of the lunch room, anyway. Where do you expect to put it? Come on, idiot." Showing who was obviously the one in control at the moment, Sasuke dragged Naruto off to the bathrooms to see _just_ how bad he was injured.

"Oi, quit being such a perv!" Naruto snapped, when his back hit a cold wall. If Sasuke was a teen rapist, he would be mad good at his _profession_. _If_.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Aish, it's not about that. Why do you keep getting into all this damn trouble?" He was un binding the white wrappings, and not finding anything pretty beneath. He didn't care who it was, a single person, or a group, he would murder them _all_ for touching Naruto. After all, besides Naruto, there was no other friend, no other person in the world, that he could care about. Even Kakashi… even through the years that Kakashi had taken care of him… Kakashi could not be as important as Naruto. After all, Naruto was his most important person. Naruto… was the only person Itachi told him to get close to.

"Still, I can take care of myself." Naruto frowned when Sasuke continued to unravel the bandages.

"Obviously."

Bruises, scrapes, yes, Naruto could take care of himself _very_ well, if taking care meant doing as much damage as possible without breaking a bone. "Oi, you!" Naruto couldn't help but wince once in a while, despite the strange gentleness in Sasuke's otherwise rough touch. "Whatever… Look, I promise not to let it happen again, and you just stop worrying about pointless things, 'kay?" Even with his marks showing, Naruto left the bathroom, leaving Sasuke with the still stained bandages. He pulled on a long sleeved hoodie, orange, obviously, to cover up. At this point, he wanted Sasuke to really stop being such a mother around him. It got on his nerves, and it never stopped.

Sasuke waited for the door to swing closed, as he gazed in a mirror. He could See Itachi standing behind him, simply shrugging at Naruto and the left wraps. "Tch… idiot." He smoothed out the cloth, rolling them up to wash, knowing he would use them later. Naruto knew not the meaning of 'no fighting'.

~sSs~

Later, just for their final class of the day, and their final class together, Sasuke and Naruto sat together. Not by Naruto's choice, because he did not want Sasuke to question him further, but both of their surnames began with U. The short tables were arranged to suit pairs of two, so there was no one for Naruto to talk to, besides Sasuke.

"All right, class. Instead of the normal boring introductions, as I'm sure you're all bored with it by now, I thought we'd try something a little… different." Iruka flickered his eyes towards Naruto and Sasuke. He knew neither one would be quite happy about this. "And first things first, pick a scrap from this bucket, here, and tell your partner what your topic is." Iruka walked around the class, allowing one slip to each person. There was no trading, no changing.

He neared their table. "Here you go." Sasuke reached in and pinched a thin layer between his fingers. He folded it, so as not to show Naruto his topic, quite yet. Maybe, he would be curious, and they could finally start a conversation over it. Naruto did likewise.

Naruto unwrinkled his paper, peering at the tiny word written there. "Okay… **Water**… what'd you get?"

Sasuke was relieved. He wouldn't try to ignore him because of that lunch incident. He held the neatly creased paper to the blonde. "You read it." Sasuke had little interest in English, anyway. It was far from a difficult class for him. However, several seconds after delivering the tab, Sasuke still did not hear Naruto's voice. "Naruto?"

Then, he hear a snicker. "Ha — y-you have… — that's great!" Sasuke snatched back his paper. **Love**. Great. Just fucking great. "Dude, you and love _so_ don't go together!" Naruto cracked up, while others were also moaning or cheering about their own topics.

"Crap, I got **Tree**… that must be the most boring thing ever!" "Whoo! Mom owns a flower shop, so **Flowers** will be easy." "How troublesome… Oh well. **Cloud** can't be too hard, right?" "Can I really be reading this right? I can't write something about **Vegetables**!"

"So, Da- er, I mean… Mr. Umino! What d'we gotta do with this stuff?" Naruto shouted.

Iruka smiled up at the class, waving his arms in an attempt to quiet the chatter. "What we will do in this class today is something I am quite fond of. It's a kind of poetry." At the word _poetry_, several students covered their eyes, imagining the worst. "What we will do today, is become new slam poets."

Naruto crinkled his nose in confusion, and a girl towards Sasuke's right raised her hand. "But, Mr. Umino, what's so different about it? What's a slam poet?" Her name was Sakura, a beautiful girl with the strangest bubblegum-pink hair. "Is it like reciting?"

Iruka cocked his head, resting his chin on his finger tips. "Hmm… yes, and no. It is performed most often by memory, with a story, and exaggerated movements. Sometimes only of the arms, but some create dances and even sing a few notes while performing their craft. To demonstrate, I'll do a short segment of one I wrote. It comes from a section about twenty lines in." Cheering at this new teacher raised his spirits.

-s-

_It's a dance,_

_A weapon, so deadly, yet beautiful_

_tuned in full_

_to the forest's trill_

_of birds, of crickets,_

_flowing through thickets_

_through the pine, a gentle breeze,_

_hidden in wait,_

_a silent gait,_

_waiting,_

_baiting,_

_it's raining_

_but the fox is gaining_

_distance on prey_

_as the night turns gray_

_losing the fray…_

_-s-_

_and snap!_

_dashing away,_

_from the hunter's way_

_before day_

_breaks the play_

_a constant fear, lingers here_

_in that heart_

_of the deepest tear_

-s-

Some students had no idea what had just happened, but clapped anyway, when they realized he was done and other students slapped their hands. "So, understand a little better, Sakura?" he asked. The girl with pink hair nodded. Although. he couldn't tell whether she was honest or not. "I'll give you thirty minutes to create something about your topic. Okay? Begin!"

They went to work. Everyone but Sasuke. "Spectacular…" he muttered, trying to think of anything for his word of inspiration… **_Love_**.

"Okay, okay, so how about something like… Hey, Sasuke, what rhymes with water?"

Unconsciously, he heard a few words slip past his lips. "Hotter, potter, slaughter, or — "

"Okay, thanks!" Naruto started scratching down a few words, and Sasuke couldn't help it. He could think of _nothing_. He needed help… and from someone that might… understand his love.

"Itachi…" he whispered. He rested his head on a loose fist, gazing down at his blank notebook paper. He could see Itachi in it. Just behind the lines, his brother hid in waiting.

And before long, he could feel the cold presence. _"I know. As for Love, just think about someone… very important. I think you know who I speak of."_ He leaned closer, his frozen breath chilling his ear. _"Just think about how much you want to be looked at, like I know you do. Think about how much you want to be seen, to be heard, and if I was to be found out, to be accepted. You want this person to know _everything_, don't you?"_ A chuckle that sent shivers down his spine was all he heard before Sasuke was once again alone.

"To be accepted…" he repeated, absentmindedly.

And before long, he too began his piece. His Slam Poem of Love.

Iruka collected each paper, yet there were still ten minutes left. He left them to quiet conversation, as he skimmed. And when the clock timed down to just three minutes before the bell, he said one final thing. "I've read every one of these. And I've chosen one to be performed now, by the writer." Gasps ghosted over the students in a silent plead for it not to be their own. "And the word this person wrote about… was…"

Naruto leaned forward, desperately hoping that Iruka wouldn't call on him. Dads could be mean like that, if they wanted, and he hoped Iruka was not the same. "Love."

Sasuke might have sworn he heard a mirror break somewhere. It was just his bad luck. Truly.

"Uchiha Sasuke, read, perform, have fun, and if you don't, I'll keep the class after the bell until you finish every word." It was such a mean promise. Iruka shook the paper in front of him, waiting for Sasuke to come claim his art.

Sasuke sighed, pressing his hand to his face. This was not going over well. "Fine." He walked up, snatching the slightly crinkled paper. Iruka left to sit at his desk, so Sasuke was all alone at the front. There were too many girls to count staring at him, hoping for it so say something about them, hoping that it might mention a newfound love.

He took a breath. Better get it over with.

_-s-_

_All right. I know I could be writing better about something else…_

_But… I pulled this shit, first_

_-s-_

_Wondering about love, fate_

_What's so great about that?_

_I'm here, just playin', thinking about stayin'_

_but, hey, man, you can't be looking at her, then_

_-s-_

_Why you looking for love in all the wrong places?_

_seeing naught but all these sneering faces?_

_Now, just wait, go count your paces_

_how far she is_

_now look closer, and see that you could_

_be the winner of all places_

_-s-_

_Finding you, just playing around_

_not even taking a standing ground_

_Is there a point to this maddening gesture_

_or is it all an innocent pleasure?_

_-s-_

_Everyday, taking the sidelines_

_I'm gonna go crazy, no doubt, getting these finds_

_You're making me lose it, maybe I never had it_

_But, just say it, just admit it, you_

_know you're the cause of it_

_-s-_

_Now, spewing words, all a ramble, all ruckus,_

_tell me really, what do you know of us?_

_Can't you see me, hear my plead_

_begging for something that _I_ desperately need_

_something only you, only you, can give_

_but how can you not know, how can you miss_

_-s-_

_It's just so damn depressing_

_why the _hell_ am I even confessing?_

_I shouldn't let you keep messing_

_while you're constantly testing_

_pushing my limit,_

_straining my limit,_

_breaking the limit I never broke_

_-s-_

_Now, shit, look, it's shattered, and I'm vulnerable_

_And you're still so tangible, so close_

_so admired,_

_desired,_

_In such eyes, they're fired_

_with life, with death_

_you're such an angel,_

_a demon_

_-s-_

_I can touch you, feel you,_

_but can you see me, feel _me_?_

_This idea is so rejectable,_

_but I'm so susceptible_

_and I can't be such an imbecile_

_that I don't even see_

_-s-_

_So, in my depression,_

_be my sun, angel, a good lesson,_

_and maybe you'll stop fuckin' messin'_

_Discover for what we're destined_

_-s-_

_And maybe when I find it,_

_maybe when you see this,_

_then you'll understand it_

_brand it_

_in your memory, in your soul,_

_that your story has been told_

_that I'm the one,_

_who felt that gold_

_in your heart, in your mind,_

_and now, forever,_

_You're only mine._

_-s-_

_But don't think this is a love poem_

_oh, fuck, no_

_Because I don't love you_

_well maybe I do,_

_but no! You're not for me, neither I for you_

_Just stay your distance, but never stray too far_

_and remember I can't love you_

_it's a too great a distance, my star_

_-s-_

_I just want this all to end_

_this fear, this pain, let me mend_

_and maybe, maybe, you'll understand, my friend_

_maybe, maybe, you'll really be there till the end_

_because I need a base, unfailing,_

_a special star, no hate prevailing,_

_be in line,_

_never lying,_

_always a bit prying,_

_and a bond unbroken when we're dying_

_So maybe, maybe, in heaven flying_

_you'll understand this spell I've been trying_

_-s-_

_Piece together my rhyme, my jest_

_Find the time to look for my best_

_pass my test, and pass the rest,_

_because the prize behind_

_is more precious than any kind_

_Just like you,_

_more precious than any other._

_-s-_

_…And maybe, you never know,_

more precious _than even my brother_

_-s-_

Sasuke sighed. Yeah… Itachi would be giving him serious shit for that last line… Why did he even say it? _Why_?

He slumped back to he seat after a quick round of applause. Well… it wasn't too bad, for the time given, but he just somehow knew that Iruka did that on purpose… the topic, his partner, the fact that he was one of the few fourteen year olds in that entire school that actually _knew_ what a poetry slam was… and the bell rang.

~sSs~

And this time, it was Sasuke's turn to avoid his blonde friend. "Hey, Sasuke! Sasuke! Wait up!" He kept walking. Don't look back, don't stop moving, don't even slow. "Sasuke!" The voice was much closer now, as it worked its way through the thick body of students, all rushing for their buses.

"Naruto," he finally said, stopping as the flow of teenaged humans separated before him.

Naruto panted when he reached the raven haired boy. "Oi, oi, how come you didn't say you had someone?" Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows. What? "I mean, I know you said 'don't think it's a love poem' and all, but that was _such_ a love poem. Like, damn, why didn't you tell me? I could totally help hook you up, man!"

Sasuke turned his face so Naruto wouldn't see his frustration. "I'm not in love… especially not with some weird, annoying, loud girl in this school."

"Eh? Wait… you aren't one of _those_ guys, right Sasuke? You look too straight to like that stuff."

Sasuke turned back. Naruto was completely missing the point of the whole poem! He breathed deep, unwrapping his gray scarf. "I'm not gay, Naruto. I'm not in love with anyone. Just pretend that I never wrote that stupid thing." Sasuke began to walk away. "I have stuff to do, today, anyway… I'll see you tomorrow." He tossed the blue and gray scarf to his friend, saying lastly, "Wear that. You forgot yours, right?"

Naruto wanted to follow, but even he was not blind enough not to notice when Sasuke was in 'a mood'. After watching Sasuke's back turn a corner and disappear in a blink, he finally began his own walk home. It was too close to the school for him to have to ride the buses, and he didn't want to wait for Iruka to come home, either.

"Itachi… give me a mission. I need it." At the mention of a mission, Itachi came alive.

_"I know who you might be interested in…"_

~sSs~

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Okay, he should really go turn that off. Beep. Beep. Beep. It's getting on his nerves! Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Fine, I'll get up! Sasuke snarled mentally at the poor alarm clock. Before it could continue, he slammed a blind fist in the air, hoping to somehow catch the off button. He was still flailing when Kakashi stepped in, taking his flying fist in a firm grasp. His eyes snapped open. "You know, it might work better if you go to the other side of the bed," he said, pointing at the glowing face on Sasuke's opposite side. Sasuke didn't care.

"Why are you still here?" he asked. Kakashi never entered his room. Generally, he was always asleep, because his first class didn't start until Sasuke's second block.

"School's been cancelled, today." Sasuke tried to look confused while still dazed in this tired state. "It's on the news, right now." Just faintly, Sasuke could hear the reporter blaring into his microphone.

_"A name has not been released, however it is known that the student was an exchange student, currently enrolled in Konoha High School."_ Sasuke didn't care. He knew what happened, anyway. _"… around 4:37 last night." _What a bore. If they knew anything, they would know that it happened at _4:39_, jeez. _"… still looking for the culprit." _Sasuke knew they would be looking for the murderer. He knew they would want people to call in, to tell them what they knew about the death. They could get all the information they wanted from Sasuke, if he was willing, but that was not on his 'to do' list. His games were his own, the things he did were things he wanted to continue doing.

Kakashi was telling him something… but he just wanted to sleep. Kakashi could talk to him later.

"Sasuke… Sasuke… Oi, Sasuke!" Great… it was Naruto, wasn't it? "Sasuke, wake up! You heard, too, right?" Why was Naruto in his room? Oh yeah, he wasn't there anymore. He was in the back of a small silver car, heading to Naruto's home. Kakashi said that he had been called for something… what was it? He could not remember a thing. "You know why school was out?"

"Yeah…" he murmured. He was so tired… why was he still fatigued? It must be late morning, or early afternoon. "Yeah, I know."

"Um… there's something I wanna ask, too, when we get back home." Sasuke stayed with Naruto and Iruka so often that it sorta was his second home. "It's not important, but…"

Sasuke shut down again. Everything was so tired…

~sSs~

Soon, although mere seconds to him, he had been riding for a good fifteen minutes when Iruka pulled into the drive. "Okay, come on inside, Sasuke. Stuff hasn't really been cleaned out, yet, but…" He waved a hand. Sasuke knew what to expect when entering any room that Naruto had spent mass amounts of time in.

"Yeah, thanks, Iruka."

He stumbled out of the car like a drunken man, and Naruto took the initiative to hold him up. "You okay, Sasuke?"

"Yeah, Naru… fine…" Images swarmed his mind. He could still see Dosu's face painted with fear, splattered with his own blood. Sasuke watched him die with satisfaction, knowing that this was the bastard that hurt Naruto, he and his team. Sasuke felt so happy to watch his eyes glaze over, and feel his heart stop. So much in his revenge made him feel alive as he could never in any other way. "I'm really… fine."

Naruto still eyed him nervously, but decided not to question it too much. Then, he remembered something. "Oh, yeah! And your scarf, I have that, so you can get it back." Sasuke nodded, as he and Naruto made their way inside, with Iruka not far behind. The snow of January did not let up at all, pouring every flake of its contents into the streets and over the roofs.

Naruto and Sasuke headed to Naruto's room, which still hadn't changed much since the first time Sasuke saw it, when Naruto couldn't wait to show him Kyuubi. However, although Naruto was so certain that he would become a 'wise old Kyuubi' and live to over ten years, he one day escaped, about three years ago. They spent hours trying to find him in Naruto's room, but… well, you can imagine how that went.

Sasuke sat stiffly on the orange comforter, still thinking about that unhealthy energy that he felt when murdering Dosu, attempting to bring himself back to life. Naruto was searching through his cluttered backpack for the scarf, which Sasuke didn't understand at all… How could Naruto lose a _scarf_? Still, he sat still.

But then he spotted a pile of manga books, graphic novels. Hmm… Sasuke had never really gotten 'into' the whole anime thing, but if it would keep him awake. He glanced over to Naruto, who, at the moment, was proudly holding up a newfound nickel, just made that year, a shiny and new… then he realized what he was looking for. Pocketing his find, Naruto continued piling out notebooks and pencils, erasers and pens, broken chopsticks and other random nooks.

Naruto finally gave a huge sigh, throwing a small eraser behind him, not aiming for anything in particular… then, "Ow! What the hell?" Sasuke rubbed at his eye. That was definitely not something he expected.

"Oh, crap! Sorry, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to! I was just… er… I didn't mean for it to hit you! See, I was just…" No way could Naruto make that shot again. It was small, and soft, but when a point like that of the new eraser hits you square over your eye… "See, I was just looking in the backpack, and I took an eraser, you know, and I sorta threw it, and…" Naruto sorta whipped it back, aiming for the back wall.

Apparently, lightening does strike twice, because had Sasuke not been covering his eyes, this larger stray eraser just might've done even worse damage. "Oi!" Sasuke flinched when it toppled over his head. "Death by eraser!" he snapped.

Naruto continued to apologize, before he looked up. "Hey, there it is! It wasn't in my backpack, after all! Now that I remember… I put it up somewhere so that I wouldn't accidentally ruin it in my backpack… Oops." Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously as he pulled the gray cloth down from its perch on the dresser. "Um… here." Sasuke angled an eyebrow at him, as Naruto stood there awkwardly. Naruto still had that question in mind… the one he knew Sasuke would say no to. I mean, Sasuke would never say yes to such a statement, but… he had to be sure.

Naruto sighed. It was like Sasuke was waiting for him to say it. "You… that exchange student who was murdered… you don't know anything 'bout it, right?" Sasuke stared. "You said you had some… um, other stuff, and yesterday, at lunch, you were trying to figure out who kinda… did me in. You wouldn't ever… kill someone… would you?"

Sasuke stayed his silence. What should Naruto expect? "Do I look like a murderer to you?" he questioned.

"Yeah, you – I mean, no! Of course not! It was just a question. If you could kill a person just 'cause they hit me, some."

Sasuke hmphed. "Hit you some? You won't recover for days. You shouldn't even be in school," Sasuke said with a bitter taste. "Besides… that wasn't your question. You first asked if I _would_, then if I _could_. I assure you, I have the same ability as anyone to murder whoever I wish."

Naruto felt slightly unnerved at that answer, but it was Sasuke, after all. He was just like that. "Okay… then would you?"

"If someone hurt me, would you care?" he countered.

Naruto pouted. Sasuke would not give him any straight answers. "I would care… because you're my friend."

"Is that all?"

"Friends care about their friends! And… you're like my brother! How could I not care?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Is that why you interpreted the poem so wrong? You think I'm your brother?" _…And maybe, you never know, more precious than even my brother_.

"What? What do you mean wrong? What else could it mean besides you're in love with someone? I mean, yeah, the part about it not being a love poem… but it still sounded like one." Naruto wished he never asked that question. He wanted to forget it happened. It was taking a strange turn for him… "Let's just… do something else." Naruto then realized that he was still clenching the scarf in his hands… it was wrinkled where he had been grasping it. "Oops…" He looked in either direction, then raveled it around Sasuke's eyes, before running for the hills.

"Oi! You really want me blind, don't you?" Sasuke said, chasing after him.

Yeah, it should be like this. Like when their age still was only one digit long, when the only goal they had was to have fun.

"Boys," Iruka exclaimed, hearing their heavy footfalls — more like Naruto's steps over Sasuke's — "don't run in the house!" A wrestling match roared quietly on a small television in the kitchen, as Iruka prepared a pasta dinner.

"Thanks, dad!" Naruto said, racing past the bread basket to steal a snack. "Can't talk. Running for my life!" Sasuke was soon behind him, but with surprisingly light footsteps, considering how loud Naruto was. "Don't kill me, Sasuke! I don't have anything against your eyes, I swear! Okay, really, stop! The erasers were just an accident! Oh damn, he's catching up…" A mini wrestling match ended in the living room, where Naruto found himself pinned beneath the Uchiha.

"Nothing against my eyes, you say?"

"No, no! They're really… um… pretty? Okay, okay, wait, _so_ not the right word! Sorry!"

~sSs~

Lee was currently exercising in the snow, clothed in the thickest coat, hat, and scarf you could buy… on a unicycle. "If I cannot rise this unicycle for ten miles in this thick snow, I will run it, instead, without slipping on this ice! If I slip on the ice, I will instead jump rope with this winter suit on! If I cannot — " The list continued.

And sure enough, Naruto watched the green marshmallow called Lee peddling over the thickest spots of glittering ice flakes past his icy window. "That Lee is totally nuts…" Naruto said, wide-eyed. "How can he have the physical strength to do that?"

Sasuke said nothing, merely gazed as Lee-mallow struggled in the drift. He sipped hot chocolate, actually thankful for this day off. He thought he should have killed that guy sooner, if he could get a day away from that high school just by killing one student. He should ask for Itachi's help more often… that boy was a good pick. He resisted for so long, and he screams were so sweet…

"Oi, Sasuke, now that I have a giant bruise to add to my collection, what else ya wanna abuse me for?"

Sasuke stood up to the shorter teen. His nose might meet Naruto's eyes. "Wasn't my fault. You're the clever one who banged his head on the table."

"While trying to escape you and your evil clutches! Who knows what could've happened to me?" Naruto said with a pout, "You're probably more dangerous than the table, anyway." Sasuke knew the truth of that… He put a hand none too lightly on Naruto's shoulder. He knew it was probably still sore, and would be for a while. Really, he should tell Iruka about this.

~sSs~

Sasuke was appalled by the high school bathrooms, and avoided them at all costs, but… this day, his bladder just would _not_ wait.

He tried to rush in without rushing, an unsuccessful break. Okay… now he knew that the females had their important issues to talk about in the bathrooms, as it was _such_ a great place to converse, but… Damn it! They overflowed to even the _guys_' bathroom!

The restrooms were spread out, and the closest one was the one no one used… because they, even the _seniors_, lived by the story of the death the happened in that bathroom. No one entered it, and those that did swore that they could see blood stains on the walls and hear a ghost whispering of their death. However, that was the normal student. Sasuke was not normal. He did not fear ghosts, or death. He feared two things, at this moment. Itachi: as he always would. Embarrassment of having wet pants: as he might if he didn't use that bathroom pronto.

"Shit!" Would he make it? His weighted backpack swung quick at his high speed dash for the toilet. He had to relieve himself, and in that time, he looked up and saw these random messages carved into the wall.

[UI + ZH forever 3]

[You stink~]

[lol penis]

And other ridiculously stupid messages coated the wall… but then he saw another. He thought… this bathroom had not been used for years. So then, why should Naruto's name be carved alongside the other words? And, as it seemed, in such a foul way?

He wished he hadn't need to enter this stall. Maybe he should've picked a different one. He wanted to leave. Soon, he did, but he just wanted to check something, before he left. When he exited, he checked the walls in the other stalls. The words all varied, each a little different, but one message stayed constant in all six stalls.

He raced from that bathroom, however he was soon held up by the thick flow of students, heading for one small exit.

Who wrote that? Who would want such a thing?

[kill naruto]

Every scratch came from the same person. Every word was the will of one person.

[kill naruto]

Naruto must not be so uncommon a name, right? That was it.

[kill naruto]

No, he knew it was a lie… but what person would want to enter the 'cursed' bathroom just to write that bitter message?

[kill naruto]

That was it. It was cursed. Whoever wrote that must want to damn Naruto's spirit to that ghost that supposedly lingered in the mirrors, in the walls, haunting every stall.

[kill naruto]

He could not let that happen… Naruto was the only person Itachi allowed him to befriend, to get close to, to love as he might Itachi.

[kill naruto]

~sSs~

Soon, he was back down the hallways, the slow-paced day gone. "Sasuke!" He turned at the distinctly feminine voice.

"Sakura."

Fireworks danced in front of her eyes to hear he name spoken by her sweet love. "Sasuke, um… I was just wondering if… you wanted to sit at our lunch table tomorrow? AH, Ino wanted me to ask!" she said, twisting a strand of hair. "Um, so, do you want to?"

Sasuke pretended to consider. "No." Not if Naruto couldn't come with him. He had no other reason to go, if Naruto could not also sit there. "I won't leave Naruto."

She looked desperate. And Sasuke saw right through her lie about Ino. "Uh… but what if Naruto sits there, with us? We can make room!"

"No. Naruto would also not want to leave Kiba."

"Uh, but — "

"And Shikamaru's lunch has been changed. He'll also want to stick the Chouji's side, who is always close to Kiba, so we have no reason to move." He turned away without a goodbye. However, even with his cold retreat, Sakura was definitely far from done. He knew that girls were relentless when they found a boy to fight over. "You girls are so _annoying_."

He turned our of the school, where he would wait for Naruto. That idiot was always the last one out. He waited… and waited. Then, suddenly, the lot was empty. Naruto was not coming out. What could have… wait… no, that message was not written about _his_ Naruto. That curse was not written this year, for _his_ Naruto. No one, all year, had dared to enter those stalls, so no one could ever mark the walls with the name of _his_ Naruto!

Sasuke froze.

The world stopped with him, only a distant crackle to signal the real world existed. Rain fell in a drizzle.

If that was true, if Naruto was really in danger, if someone was out to kill him, then Sasuke could not just stand around! Was this payback by the gang for killing Dosu? Two thugs remained. It could be them.

Even if it was, Sasuke cared not who would take his Naruto. He only cared that he find them, catch them, slit every throat that might speak a word against his friend, cut wrists attached to fists that might try to harm Naruto, restrain any foot that might try a kick at his Naruto. Naruto was the only person he was allowed to protect. He could not fail. A louder crack, and the slightest flashes of lightning.

Sasuke dropped his bag, rushing for the scene of Dosu's murder. They always hung around that dreaded alley… Sasuke had practiced on many people in that same alleyway, heard terrible screams, caused frightened citizens to move, because of the things they heard, but could not stop.

Sasuke's shoes pounded the pavement, his breath becoming ragged as he became closer. His clothes were wet, and his dark hair was plastered to his pale face.

Itachi sped next to him. _"Aren't you going to long lengths to protect this clumsy boy?" _he asked. _"Honestly, I could get you much better victims than these amateurs."_

"Naruto couldn't fight them, before," Sasuke said, wiping rain from his eyes.

Itachi shrugged, still running, when he pulled out a small book from his pocket. _"Whatever, Suke. I still have a new entry."_

Sasuke did not understand, but Itachi pushed the book in front of him. Sasuke had only the time to see a few words of the twisted diary before he pushed it out of his line of sight. It was too late. Just those seconds without vision sent him on a trip spree, a scrape to his jaw, and burns to his wrists. Itachi wanted to kill him, Sasuke bet. Even as his student, Itachi had to give a challenge… and that caused a terrible mistake in his footing.

He rolled to a stop, just meters from his destination. Others heard his crash.

They must have been expecting him, because Sasuke heard one long call in a voice he was all too familiar with. "SASUKEEE!"

"Naruto!" he responded, before a rough hand took his thin wrists, and Sasuke felt a cold blade under his neck.

"Come quietly, and maybe your blonde friend won't be hurt… too badly." And the thunder snapped.

~sSs~

**We dare you to have someone in your novel kidnapped at the end of the next page.**

**We dare you to include the dream you had last night in your novel. [Lucky me, my dreams are about high school too often… T.T the nightmares… Don't I spend enough time there in the day?]**

**We dare you to make a character entirely dependent on fortune cookies fortunes in order to make decisions.**

**We dare you to have something that is written on the inside of a bathroom stall change your main character's life. [Yes, I have seen plenty of times that the girls have invaded our bathrooms… if it's never happened at your school, lucky you.]**

**We dare you to start your next paragraph with: "Apparently lightning does strike twice."**

**We dare you to incorporate three of the things nearest to you that start with the letter "n" into the next paragraph.**

**We dare you to have your villain keep a journal recording his or her daily acts of heartlessness.**

**We dare you to have your main characters face his or her greatest fear.**

**We dare you to add a waterfall, fireworks, a unicycle, a wrestling match, and a poetry slam to the next chapter. [I only found out what they were yesterday, and had one day to write them… sorry if you just think it's a lot of rhyming words…]**

_As you can see, I ran out of ideas often… and I'm sorry for being a day late! This chapter is longer, so… forgive me?_


	4. Just Another Night

Sleepless Predator: Chapter Three: Just Another Night

"Get off me, bastards!" Naruto spat at the freak holding his bonds. The girl had the reddest hair he had ever seen, and easily held him by the ends of his ropes, as he struggled.

Sasuke dared not show the slightest fear, even as the blade drew a single drop of hot blood. "Naruto…" he whispered, feeling the cold knife against his skin, as his throat moved. The man behind him had sickly, sweaty hands on his wrists, and it made Sasuke's skin crawl. The chill in the air only made things worse, as a storm rumbled angrily.

He could not let something like this happen to him, to Naruto. Why could he not protect him well enough? He thought… He needed to escape. These two both had to die. They could never know… they could never tell.

Silently, Sasuke plotted, and he had to first force his clumsy captor to his knees… well… as unconventional as it was…

"Ahhh! You little — " Zaku let go of Sasuke for only a moment, as he fell to his knees, just as Sasuke intended. He was struck in a place no man _ever_ wanted to be kicked. Stealing the knife from Zaku's fist, Sasuke ran for it. He had someone else to worry about, first. Still, even in the pain, Zaku ran awkwardly after the freshman. "Oi, brat! I'll kill you!"

He could see Naruto's hazy form getting closer, and that's when noticed that his orange clothes were no longer orange… They were red. "Stay back!" Kin shrieked into the rain.

Sasuke did not hear a thing as he continued to follow the sound of Naruto's faint shouts. She was dragging him away. She was trying to silence him. She was hurting him. "Naruto!" He had to be faster. He was running, running, and then Itachi showed his pale complexion.

_"Suke… how come you always care for him, so much? I put him in so much danger, and you always succeed in keeping him alive…"_

Although his legs were still running, Sasuke's mind seemed to freeze. _"Maybe I was right, when I said you should care for this Naruto, Suke. Having to always take care of him makes you stronger, doesn't it?" _Sasuke refused to keep listening. This was not his brother's fault. These rodents that tried to kill his Naruto were not associated with Itachi, after all. He was messing with his mind… _"Don't get lost out here, Suke. It's a long walk home."_

He needed to focus! She was getting closer… he was catching up, quickly. "Naruto!" This time, there was no answer. He was silent. Or was it merely the pounding rain that blocked his calls? "Naruto!" He just wanted to be sure. He just wanted to hear his voice.

"Naruto, Naruto!" mocked Kin, in a shrill voice. "Ha, you've already lost, Uchiha! Revenge is sweet, isn't it?" Revenge for what? Dosu deserved what he got! "An eye for an eye, a life for a life! Take your precious Naruto back, then! He's useless, anyway." She dropped the red and orange mass on the wet ground. Sasuke heard the splash. Why isn't he getting up? Damn it, Naruto! Get up! He drew nearer. He could see her leaning over his body — no, over his friend. Naruto was definitely not dead.

"Get away from him, you bitch!" He was getting closer. She was in an alley, and the rain was blocked. He could see them, and she had Naruto on his back. She also had a knife, poised over his chest. "No!" Her arm was swinging down, and he didn't even have to see her face to know what she was feeling as her knife fell in slow-motion before his eyes. "Fuck!" He was so far away, but he knew what he could do.

In that small moment, Kin's red blade began its descent, Sasuke's stolen weapon hurled through the air, and eyes widened in shock, in pain, and after that, they never closed. Zaku caught up in time only to he his companion fall in her own blood, as Sasuke, the weak little freshman, turned to face him with eyes a shade of dark that no human should ever witness. "I'll kill you."

A short time later, Sasuke was quickly at Naruto's side, lifting him up, and wondering if it was his blood or Kin's that made up this deep pool of scarlet. Probably a mixture.

He had to move Naruto somewhere safe… then take care of these bodies. If there was one thing Itachi would never stop griping about, it was that he always left so much evidence. "Naru… wake up." He felt for a pulse. Good. Either the Kin was lying, or she had no idea what it meant to faint. "Three down, Naruto. They won't hurt you, anymore." Honestly… he must be sick if through all this, under his worry, and under his anger, he was the happiest that he'd ever felt in a long time.

Itachi sighed, kneeling beside him. Sasuke couldn't hear Itachi's thoughts, but if he did, he might not have been so happy. _'And to think… I only thought this Naruto would be a good way to ice your heart… not warm it.'_

Sasuke scrapped his jacket, shredding it to strips, wrapping up the worst of the wounds. He could take care of Naruto. He knew that Iruka would _flip out _if he knew what happened… so Sasuke thought that it would be best to fabricate some story about muggers and guns.

Let's see… he thought, as he carried a frighteningly light-weighted Naruto back to his own home. Those two, Kin and Zaku, are taken first. Threats fly, fists miss, and eventually they are murdered by their own bad hand. Naruto struggles as well. He is beaten for it, but he continues to fight. Why am I unscathed? I was already under the blade. They thought there was no reason to be troubled with me. He continued to create this twisted false recollection of the night's events.

He had Naruto on his lap, as he washed away some of the blood, disinfecting other scrapes and scratches. Using the bandages that he saved during their last meeting in the bathroom, he rewrapped Naruto into a mummy. Yeah… as anyone could see, Naruto was _obviously_ able to take care of himself.

During this, Sasuke failed to see that it was because of him all along that Naruto was always in danger.

~sSs~

Kakashi came home late to find Naruto and Sasuke asleep in the bedroom. There were band-aid boxes open, and washcloths and ointments. He'd have to ask Sasuke about this… but for now, he would let him sleep. Just a glance at the rings under his eyes told anyone that Sasuke needed it. He called Iruka, and apparently, Sasuke had already informed him that Naruto intended to spend the night 'studying' at his house. Kakashi took another peek. So, two options presented themselves. One: Sasuke is a very good liar. Two: They had the most epic paper cut war of all paper cut wars. He went with option one, sad to say.

As soon as he left to shower before heading to bed, Sasuke opened his eyes. Itachi's faint presence made him think a window had been left open all this winter night. He shivered. _"Night, Suke."_ Cold, dead lips pressed against his forehead in a terrible wish for sweet nightmares.

~sSs~

Kakashi was home most Saturday mornings, and he greeted Sasuke at his awakening. "Morning, Sasuke. You and Naruto sleep well, then?" Naruto was still sleeping. Sasuke knew he had had brief moments that he was awake, yesterday, but the aspirins and other sleep inducing meds he had given him kept him out while Sasuke washed out the injuries that would otherwise have him in even more pain. But don't worry. Sasuke wasn't stupid; he didn't overdose Naruto, or anything.

"You're going to tell me what happened, yesterday." It was not a question, nor a suggestion.

Even Sasuke knew when there was no way out. "All right," he began. "Four of us were — "

"Wait… four? Who else, besides you and Naruto?" Kakashi interrupted.

Sasuke sighed. "There are three exchange students from Otogakure. Well, _were_, as it is. All three are officially dead."

What a lovely start to a lovely lie.

Not long after, Naruto stirred, and Sasuke was at his side. "Sasuke… wha' 'it me?" He moved to scratch his head, only to realize how bound, wound, and bandaged he was. "Ai, what's this?" he exclaimed. "Ah man, Iruka's gonna have a serious fit…"

Sasuke moved closer, smoothing the sheets. It was a silent gesture for Naruto to lie back down, and the blonde obliged. "Kakashi knows the story, and he's probably told Iruka by now. I'll bet you should know, too."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, then let a small smile grace his cracked lips. "Dude, I only know one thing, and that's all I need to know." Sasuke waited for him to continue. "You. Kicked. Ass." Sasuke paused… Naruto should not have been able to see him, past the rain and his own fight. What _exactly_ did he see before he passed out? "And I mean that very literally." Sasuke reddened at the mention of his low move. Normally, he would not resort to such a foul tactic, but… "Oi, nothing to feel bad about or something. We're alive now, right? I thought that chick was gonna kill me right then and there. Remind me not to make you angry… as often."

Sasuke let his eyes wander down his horrible patch job. Definitely not professional. Changing the subject, he said, "You'll need stitches on some of these. I think you'll have to — "

"Don't say it!"

Sasuke blinked. "… Don't say — "

"I know what you're thinking, and it's _not_ happening! I will not go there to get their evil needles stuck in me! I'd rather have you or Iruka tape me up than go there! No!" Ah, that's right. That was why Sasuke had not gone to the hospital last night, wasn't it?

"All right. Duct tape fixes everything, right?" he teased.

Naruto pouted. "You're not really gonna…" Sasuke stood up. "No, wait! Just - just leave it like this! It'll be fine!"

"I'm going, Naruto…" he said, turning his back a bit.

"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto tried to jump from the white sheets, but only succeeded in entangling his feet. He was doing a nose-dive… "Ahhh!" Seeing that, Sasuke turned around just in time to be pushed to the ground by the weight of a Flying Naruto. Naruto had a somewhat softer landing. Sasuke – not so much. "Um… oops." Sasuke was starting to realize how often Naruto said 'oops' in front of him.

"Aish, just get up. You can eat ramen or something." Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's excitement over such a simple meal, but did not pull away from the death grip of happiness. Naruto's particular 'death grip' brought back memories of the many nightmares he had shared with Sasuke, starting with the Peeps, down to nearly every food that was not ramen. Peeps pecked at him, dango tried to stab him, the bean paste tried to suck him into its dark, pasty depths of bean paste. Naruto must think about food a lot, because his list of food related nightmares continued to grow.

"Yeah, let's go!"

Iruka had come to pick Naruto up fairly early, but he allowed him to at least eat ramen with Sasuke before they headed out. Not long after the front door closed, Sasuke heard Naruto screaming. "No! No, no, no, wait, I can't go, Dad, no! Ahhh! The needles! The doctors! The snappy rubber gloves! It looks worse than it is! I really don't have to go!"

The edge of Sasuke's lips turned into the slightest smile.

"Sasuke."

He faced Kakashi. "Yeah?"

"I think you might want to know something. Come here." Kakashi took him to his work desk, taking no time to pick out a dusty, black book. "It's an album. You're old enough to understand… You've probably known for a long time, haven't you?" He read the silver letters that carved themselves over the cover. _Uchiha_. "If you want to know what happened, just ask. If you want to leave the past untouched, let it be." He held it out, and Sasuke hesitantly took it in cold hands.

This book… Did he really want to look at it? Why did Kakashi keep it for so long? Staring at Kakashi's turned back, Sasuke dropped his head, shuffling into his room. He cracked it open, seeing the same name on the first page: Uchiha. That was him. That was his name, not Hatake, like Hatake Kakashi. He was Uchiha Sasuke. He was always.

"I have to see, don't I? I know that I have dreams about them, but I can't remember. There's always light… but what else?" He slowly eased himself into his past and saw these faces that he knew were so familiar. He knew he had seen this couple before, as their wedding pictures played out, and smiling faces beamed at him through clear film. Then, the woman became pregnant. The later pictures showed her son, but that was not him. That was… "Itachi."

He should know about that, and he silently wished for the elder brother's presence once more. Without fail, over his shoulder, another set of eyes peeked at the open book. "That's you…" he said in a breath, brushing the faded photo of an infant Itachi. He turned a few more pages, watching Itachi grow… wondering when he would come in.

Itachi was turning five, and his mother's belly was round. The next picture showed a new child: him, Sasuke. He turned the page.

Blank.

"What?" He turned again and again, flipping to the very last slide… two freshly covered graves, buried under uncountable bouquets of flowers, of farewell roses.

_"That's where we begin," _Itachi said. _"You don't remember the crash… but I know you have dreams, don't you? I hear you talking in your sleep, and sometimes you walk. You stare out the window, tapping the glass at police and firemen that never come. You think I just disappear when I'm not around, or you're sleeping? Of course not. I have a life, too, you know."_

Sasuke dropped his eyes to the final slot. Each engraving was prominent, even behind the flowers and cards. He could see their names, Mikoto and Fugaku.

"So, they were called…"

Sasuke sighed. He felt miserable, but not for the right reason. He felt angry that he could not feel some sort of connection. He felt angry that he did not have sadness for discovering their deaths, or that he would never meet these people. He felt sad that he could not feel any happiness by seeing their smiling faces in these old photos. He hoped for something more… but he almost didn't care about it. Perhaps there had been a small spark of excitement when he first opened it, some anticipation, but now, he felt nothing.

"I should return it to Kakashi's desk, then," he said. This album held no point… it only made him want to feel more. "Itachi…"

"Yes, I know. I always have ideas for new missions."

~sSs~

-x-

Name: Sarutobi Hiruzen

Age: 69

Blood type: A

Location: Hokage Tower, west wing, third floor, fifth door on the left side of the outer hallway

-x-

Sasuke was not a safe kid… He didn't use reflectors on his bike. "Oi, Tachi, what's so special about this old guy? He can't be too hard to do in, can he?"

Itachi shrugged. _"He may or may not be difficult, but your task isn't merely to kill him. I want you to do something more, this night… I want — "_

A loud horn overcame Itachi's low tones, and a voice called out, "Aye, kid, get something to make yourself more visible! I nearly run ya over!" He sped off in that rusty truck, cursing the kids of the day. Sasuke hardly seemed to notice him. Gravel bits flung themselves at his eyes when vehicles passed, but he kept to his shadows.

Sasuke breathed calmly, hearing Itachi's order. "If that's what you want… but why is he worth it? I thought you preferred younger ones for that."

_"You hold back too much. On this frail, weak, aged man, who cannot fight back, I want you to take out every bit of darkness I have planted in your mind. I expect long screams, and I expect no deaths."_

It was the strangest thing Sasuke had ever heard from Itachi: no deaths. Every time he had performed this task, which had uncountable ways of success, Itachi was not pleased. He kept saying Sasuke never put enough of himself into his 'art'. He said that the basic and unsophisticated tactics he used were no use to the real world, where he would be thrown into, once high school ended. Whether the real world be college or town around Konoha, he had to show his worth. No Uchiha should be so crude and simple.

He listened to the wind over the chains on his bike. A constant clicking of his revolving chains fell into the background, and his senses came alive. The bitter touch of winter's frigid night could not amount to Itachi's icy caress. He listened as his wheels broke through the thin layers of snow, and few lights marked the way along the path that would soon become dirt. The pavement ended, and the grass peeked from under the thickest trees.

_"Do well. It's not an ordinary mission, after all."_

In determination, Sasuke answered, "Yes, brother."

Minutes later, Sasuke was hidden in the darkest shadows. The mansion-like structure appeared haunted, which was only fitting for the occurrence that was soon to happen. _"Don't make a sound," _Itachi instructed, and Sasuke rolled his eyes just once. To be silent in the process of infiltration was pure logic. _"Complete it well, and maybe you will pass, this once."_

Sasuke traced the edge of the coarse walls, and a house this old had locks so easy to crack that Sasuke wondered why they were even there. He heeded Itachi's warning to keep his silence as he climbed rickety stairs.

Turn left, turn right, go up those stairs, no, go back one doorway. You stepped wrong, Suke! Walk there, where the floor won't creak. No, no, no, go there! Itachi had not said a word, but the familiar voice kept twisting through the heavy air, making its way to Sasuke's thoughts.

Before he quite reached the final hall, he could hear the slightest snores, an occasional snort. A dim light glowed from the entryway, the shine of his digital clock face.

His face was blank, as he eyes his next victim. "Hey, old man… Ready for a lesson?"

Unlike that brawl with Dosu, which had been early in the evening and lasted mere minutes, this task took hours. He worked well into the night, hoping to please Itachi. He thought he had done well… little blood lost, no breaks, numerous tools, a broken man. Yet, Itachi could only look down on his failure.

_"You do not know what the term 'torture' means, yet, Suke."_

~sSs~

Sasuke felt so hopeless. It was near three in the morning when he began to follow more familiar streets towards Kakashi's home. He rode along silently, not a vehicle in sight. Itachi's words still murmured quietly into his ear. It angered him.

He knew what torture was! How could Itachi keep saying such a thing? Torture: unbearable agony, suffering, when your mind can no longer think of anything but escape, make it stop. Torture was pain. He knew how to torture.

He knew how to cut shallow slits into a person's skin, to slowly peel back the flesh and punish the raw tissue beneath; he knew how to burn a wound closed; he knew how to sew salt and acid into soft pockets of loose flesh; he could tear nails from their fingers and toes, and snap any joint or bone; Sasuke knew how to half suffocate a person and let them breathe for mere moments before replacing the plastic over their mouth, and watch them struggle for air. He could break any human he so chose. He _knew _how to torture.

Sasuke let his mind wander… _You do not know what the term torture means… You do not know what torture is… You do not know torture… _He thought, I do not know what it means, because… I have yet to also feel real torture.

What would be the worst torture for me? What might make me understand?

"Itachi… what is torture to you?" He was mainly asking himself. Itachi did not respond to him, anyway.

He continued to talk to himself quietly, as he unconsciously rode home.

"You hardly ever feel pain… but when you do, isn't it around Naruto? Why can he make you worry?" He concentrated on bring up any memories of pain he had felt. The majority left him with the same conclusion. "Why do you care? You should to be heartless! You should not feel such a thing… Do you worry about Kakashi? He's an adult, I guess. That's why you don't feel troubled when he is hurt. That's why…

"But, Tachi gave me permission to protect Naru, remember? So, that should be the reason that I care. Or rather… I don't care, but I still want to protect him. I want to keep him safe because he's such an idiot he can't keep himself safe. He's just weak. I'm strong enough to get him out of these cases.

"Aish, don't even pretend to think that! He's been beaten so many times lately, you don't even have the right to think you've really protected him.

"But I saved him from Kin and Zaku, didn't I? Such mixed ideas…

"If there is a weak one, you are weaker than even he. You've failed your expectant brother, as well as let Naruto fall into danger's hands. How stupid. You would never have to save him if you didn't let him get in those situations in the first place!"

He argued with himself too often… and lost such discussions. In the end, there was no winner, and he was still lost.

He locked his bike to the rack and silently crept into his bedroom window. Lucky for him, all this time that he had been under Kakashi's care, his room was always on the first floor.

Three hours later, it was nearing seven o'clock. He awoke strangely refreshed for lack of proper sleep, however, little sleep was normal.

He wondered about if Naruto had gone to the hospital or run away before Iruka could so much as park. Naruto was known to do some pretty stupid things, despite the state of his body.

Sasuke continued to lay there in his warm bed, just staring at the white ceiling. He didn't want to move, though there was nothing stopping him, and he was not tired. He wondered how long the doctors might keep Sarutobi on life support. After all, blind, voiceless, and probably deaf, he would be a hard one to heal. As long as he kept to his orders, 'no deaths', everything was fine. "Hhh… There are answers that I still want to know…" he sighed. "Tachi can't always tell me the answers… I have to discover them on my own."

I have to know.

~sSs~

**We dare you to pick up the pace by adding an action-packed chase scene to your novel this very second. [This dare killed most of the dialogue and action stuff I had planned for during the kidnapping dare from before…]**

**We dare you to introduce an unlikely romance between two characters in your next scene. [ItaSasu, anyone? No? Dang…]**

**We dare you to make your main character a sleep walker. Bonus points if this becomes a major plot point. [Well… the title is _Sleepless_ Predator… but you never know… he's bound to sleep _sometime_…]**

_Yeah... you must all hate me for the wait... but, but, I'm posting now! So forgive me? **Please**? Sorry... _T.T


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